Piano, Family and Love
by Sydella
Summary: Tsuna talks to Gokudera about Gokudera's family, with some unexpected results. 5927.


Of all the things Tsuna had expected to happen to him on a lazy Sunday afternoon, being cornered by Bianchi wasn't one of them.

"Bianchi!" he exclaimed, as she dragged him into his room, away from prying eyes. "What's going on?"

"My brother is what's going on." With trembling hands, Bianchi smoothed her hair. "Listen. There's been some trouble back home-at my parents' home in Italy, I mean. I need you to talk to Hayato and convince him to return there. Our father has summoned him."

Tsuna looked at her questioningly. "Why don't you just talk to Gokudera-kun yourself, if it's so important?"

"Oh, believe me, I've tried." Bianchi wrung her hands. "He refuses to listen to me. Shamal hasn't fared any better. Hayato won't listen to anyone except you." She looked at Tsuna imploringly. "We both know that."

Tsuna pondered this for a moment, then sighed. He had to admit that Bianchi had a point. "I'll see what I can do."

Bianchi was clearly relieved. "Thank you."

Tsuna nodded wearily. A short while later, he made the short journey to Namimori Middle. Gokudera had said that he wanted to try playing the piano in the school's auditorium, and had hastened to assure Tsuna that "The baseball idiot's after-school practices have nothing to do with it", which struck Tsuna as an oddly specific thing to say. When he arrived, Hibari caught sight of him and frowned, but did nothing to stop him.

Tsuna proceeded straight to the auditorium. As he neared, the haunting melodies of a well-played piano reached his ears. He paused on the threshold and watched Gokudera bend over the piano keys, brow furrowed in concentration. When the music slowly came to an end as Gokudera finished playing, Tsuna clapped.

Gokudera jumped and whirled around, an angry look on his face that disappeared at the sight of Tsuna. "Tenth!" he exclaimed. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Tsuna walked towards him, closing the distance between them. "I didn't mean to spy on you. It's just that you're so talented, I didn't want to disrupt your concentration."

Gokudera blushed. "Oh, I'm really not talented. Anyone could play like I can. I'm sure that you'd play much better than me. I really…I don't…" he floundered momentarily, then asked, "Are you all right?" The Storm Guardian seemed to be on the verge of despair.

Tsuna smiled reassuringly. "I'm all right, Gokudera-kun." Taking a deep breath, he said slowly and hesitantly: "Bianchi wants me…to tell you…that you need to answer your father's summons."

For a moment, Gokudera looked so furious that Tsuna involuntarily took a step back. Seeing this, Gokudera's expression softened. "Sorry, Tenth. I'm not angry at you. It's my sister I have a problem with. How dare she make you do something like this?" Gokudera balled his hands into fists and glared unseeingly at the piano.

Impulsively, Tsuna reached out and held Gokudera's hands in his own. Gokudera blinked and looked down at their entwined hands. "Tenth?" he said, his voice soft and tentative.

Tsuna looked up at him. They were standing so close to each other that both could see themselves reflected in the other's eyes. "Gokudera-kun, I think this is really important. I know you don't get along with your father, but at least he wants you to come back home. My father probably wouldn't even notice if I ran away from home. Or maybe he'd just say that it's character-building so there's no reason for him to search for me."

Gokudera was stricken. "Tenth, I'm so sorry. I should have realised-"

Tsuna shook his head. "Don't worry. You have nothing to apologise for."

Gokudera swallowed hard. "I'm so insensitive," he whispered.

"No, you're not." Tsuna squeezed his Storm Guardian's hands. "Anyway, please at least consider visiting your family for a while."

Gokudera hung his head and mumbled something.

"What was that?" Tsuna leaned in even closer.

Gokudera cleared his throat. "I said, _you _are my family, Tenth."

Tsuna felt warmth flood his cheeks. A bright red blush was overtaking his face by now, he was sure of it. Gokudera was clearly feeling every bit as uncomfortable, if the way the Storm Guardian kept fidgeting and staring at the piano was any indication.

"Tenth, I-" he began, but before he could say anything else, Tsuna stood on tiptoes and kissed him.

A shocked silence ensued. The two boys stared at each other. Then, Tsuna suddenly turned on his heel and ran out of the auditorium. Gokudera took a moment to process this, and by the time he caught up with Tsuna, the latter had collided with Hibari.

"Small animal, running is not permitted in the hallways," Hibari growled.

"I'm sorry! Forgive me, Hibari-san!" Tsuna shrieked.

Hibari shifted into a battle stance and raised his tonfas, but after a moment, he seemed to think better of it. "I'll give you a reprieve this time, but if you do it again, I'll bite you to death." He straightened and began to walk past them. "I have work to do, so I advise you to resume whatever you were doing and don't get in my way." Was it Gokudera's imagination, or was there a mischievous look in Hibari's eyes?

"Um, yeah. We won't get in your way." Tsuna hurried out of the school building, Gokudera falling into step beside him. When they were out in the street, Tsuna breathed a sigh of relief. "Even after all this time, Hibari-san is still scary."

"He seems a little different, though," Gokudera mused. "There was a time when he would have just beat us up without a second thought. And he also wouldn't have…" Gokudera trailed off and looked over at Tsuna, who had turned beet red.

"I appreciate what Hibari-san's trying to do for us," Tsuna mumbled, "but I've made a mistake."

Gokudera thought he finally understood what people meant by "sinking feeling". Trying to keep his tone light, he said as casually as he could, "A mistake, Tenth?"

"Yeah." Tsuna looked at his feet. "I mean, you obviously like Yamamoto. You're always staying behind after class just so you can watch him play baseball. I care for both of you, and Yamamoto's cool and popular, so what chance do I have? What choice do I have?" Tears welled up in Tsuna's eyes and he dabbed at them frantically.

Seconds ticked past and Tsuna felt certain that Gokudera would either walk away or laugh at him. To his surprise, Gokudera did neither. Instead, the Storm Guardian gently cupped his face. "Tenth," Gokudera murmured, "please look at me."

Tsuna raised his head and met Gokudera's gaze. Both boys could feel their hearts pounding from a mixture of anticipation and fear. Slowly, Gokudera leaned forwards, watching his reflection grow larger in Tsuna's startled, beautiful eyes, until the boys' lips met.

The kiss was fleeting and feather light, but it was enough. It was _more _than enough. Gokudera reluctantly pulled back and studied the adorable face of his boss, his friend…his lover. He felt an urge to stare at it forever and wished he could.

"Gokudera-kun." Tsuna stared back at him, happiness and confusion chasing each other across the young boss-to-be's face. "I didn't realise you feel the same way."

"I've known for a long time," Gokudera replied quietly. "I was just too scared to be honest with myself. I went after Yamamoto because I wanted a challenge. I didn't really love him, I just wanted to find a way to prove to myself that I could be better than him no matter what."

Tsuna smiled tremulously. "I see."

Gokudera kissed the smaller boy's cheek. "I love you, Tenth."

Tsuna's smile widened. "I love you too…Hayato."

Gokudera beamed. "Let's go home. Oh, and Tenth?"

Tsuna snuggled against him. "Yes, Hayato?"

"I promise I'll go visit my father." The boys held hands as they walked to Tsuna's house, ignoring curious glances from their fellow Namimori residents.

Meanwhile, Hibari observed this interaction through a pair of binoculars and murmured into a walkie-talkie, "Mission accomplished, herbivores." Cheering came from the other end, and Ryohei yelled "EXTREME!" before the connection was severed.

Hibari shook his head, but he couldn't stop a rare smile from emerging on his face. His subordinates in the Disciplinary Committee gave him strange looks and he ordered them to get back to work. In the distance, Tsuna and Gokudera walked on, not once faltering in their stride, broad smiles on their faces as if they didn't have a care in the world. Hibird flew overhead, singing something about love.


End file.
